Mobile Suit Gundam F91
by Joak Drysso
Summary: A series adaptation of the movie.
1. The Crossbone Vanguard

Mobile Suit Gundam F91

A Series Adaptation

Episode 1: The Crossbone Vanguard

"Cecily, please, just wear this dress. Just for this day, and I won't bug you about it again." Theo Fairchild practically begged his daughter. Why he wanted her to wear it was unknown to her, but if it would appease his pathetic appearance as he groveled on his knees, she would do it. With a frustrated sigh, Cecily Fairchild snatched the dark red dress from her foster father's hands and marched off to her room in a huff. Unbeknownst to her, Theo smiled sincerely at the picture of his wife on the wall, hung between two windows looking down on the street. "I have waited for this day for so long…" After a moment, he heard the bell below ring and dashed down the stairs to aid the new customers.

The Fairchilds were a fairly well-to-do family in the colony of Frontier IV, owning a bakery that many of the locals adored, but for the most part her family-or what was left of it, after her mother left Theo-tended to stay out of the public spotlight. "I'd rather not be the talk of the town." Theo had once said, and after hearing the gossip that many people traded, Cecily was inclined to agree with her father in that regard.

The dress was rather snug, but she remembered Theo's groveling position and decided that it was a small price to pay for never having to endure that again. She heard a small ringing sensation and shivered, before touching her earrings. "Were these what I heard just now…?"

She heard the sound of their little delivery van leaving and assumed Theo was making his daily run, but didn't pay much mind to it. She stepped toward the mirror for at least the fifth time to make sure she looked decent, before a sudden rap at the door shook her out of her reverie. Making her way down, she opened the door to see a young, blue-haired teen with an amused smirk on his face. He wore the clothes of a mechanic, and the moment she opened the door, he grabbed her hand and hauled her along. "Come on, the pageant's gonna start without you if you don't hurry up!"

"Seabook!" She snatched her hand back, before trotting back to the door and closing it. Locking it with her key, she turned back to face the smug mechanic. "What pageant?"

"No time to explain, come on!" And he had grabbed her hand and was tugging her after him.

It was made rather obvious what pageant he was talking about it as they made their way through a huge throng of people standing in front of a stage. On stage was a small band in formal dress, and another young man of their age, microphone in hand. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention!" It was hard to hear him over the volume of people talking, but Cecily could still make it out quite clearly. Her cheeks flushed darkly in embarrassment and anger at Seabook. "It's time for the campus festival's main event of the afternoon! The crowning of the new Miss Countryside!"

That announcement drew a lot of attention from people at the booths and they began to wander over. A small group of children ran through the crowd, a dirty blond boy in the lead. "Come on, Reese, it's starting!"

"Wait a minute, Bertuo!" The brown-haired girl followed on his heels, tailed by two other girls. She bumped into someone, and was about to yell at them when she saw Seabook, her brother. Instead, she gave him an irritated look and dodged around him.

"Little brat!" He yelled after her, before looking at Cecily, who had tried to sneak away during the time. "Now you're getting cold feet?" He grabbed her hand, and for a moment he believed he was dealing with a stubborn child. "Well that's just too bad, I bet all my spare change on you."

_ That_ particular remark apparently set something off in Cecily, because she jerked her hand away from him, spitting him with a fierce glare. Holding her slightly bruised wrist, she scowled. "I didn't get dressed up like this just to be bet on." She turned to leave, raising her dress so she could make a quick getaway. Seabook had other plans, though, and he tilted over a bit. "Hey, nice legs." She gasped, her face flushing again, before trying to hurry away. However, he snagged her dress and pulled her back. Giving into her anger, she slapped his hand.

"Don't treat me like that! You're an engineering student who's not even in my classes!" She turned and began to make her way through the crowd, which drew the announcer's attention. "Come on up here Cecily! You're supposed to be up here!"

Well, that made him a second victim for her glare, because he had to gulp when she looked at him. "I will _not_ have people betting on me."

He wasn't entirely sure how to respond to that. "Uh…you have to! You were nominated!" One of the other contestants elbowed him in the ribs with a suggestive wink. "Let's just start the show without her." He ignored her, moving her to the side as he called out Cecily's name again. With an aggravated sigh, she turned and made her way up to the stage, joining the other girls.

-

Leslie Arno would have loved to wipe that bead of sweat that was stuck on place right above his nose, itching his nose, but opening his helmet in the cold of space would have been a quick end for him. Instead, he used his will to ignore that, continuing to use his blowtorch to weld the beams together. Frontier Side, built to replace the old Side 4 colonies, was still relatively new, and so a lot of work was needed to keep them patched together and functioning properly.

He was not focused enough that an enormous hunk of metal would escape his notice, and as it came closer and closer he noticed that there were actually several of them, with varying colors and shapes, and he knew instinctively that they were mobile suits. _Mobile suits_, he thought bitterly, _that probably use my creation._ As they neared the side he kicked back, turning to see them, and was rather surprised as one of the dark ones floating right past him. The immediate thing he noticed was the, well, archaic weapon they had stored on the left arm. It reminded him of the old-age lances that warriors called knights, who looked like human-sized mobile suits on horses.

He was immediately alerted to hostilities when one of the suits lifted an arm at a battleship moored nearby, firing some sort of projectile that slammed into the bridge, neatly obliterating the crew without destroying the warship and opening a hole in the colony. Surprise registered on Leslie's face before he used his vernier to angle himself on their tail, following to figure out what was going on.

-

Inside the colony, a small crew watched as the mobile suits floated by. "There's a military out there! What do they think they're doing!" The crew wouldn't live to say anything else as another projectile blew the glass in, impacting into the equipment and setting off several explosions. Within an instant, though, the glass reversed course and was sucked into the void along with the now-dead crew.

Throughout the colony, staff was alerted that hostiles were in the colony. A pair of techies floated down a corridor as Theo drove his little van. "I didn't think we had any enemies…but I guess we do now." A superior smirk tugged at Theo's lips. _Cecily…the day I've been waiting for has arrived._

-

Leslie almost actually believed he could swim faster than the vernier was carrying him, but as he passed through a corridor of zero-gravity in the colony, he heard a lot of disturbing comm chatter, but the most important thing he heard came from a higher-up officer. "The Crossbone Vanguard is a pirate's name! They have to be from the rebellion. All troops, evacuate! They've come prepared, resistance is useless!"

Well, so much for a normal day. Leslie thought. Landing in a controlled environment, he doffed his space helmet and finally wiped that annoying bead of sweat off his nose.

-

"And the winner is…" The announcer flung his arm out at the sign, which flashed 11. "Cecily Fairchild!"

Amidst the applause, the startled redhead flushed, lifting her dress to make her way to the podium. "But this isn't even a countryside outfit!"

"It doesn't matter! If you're beautiful, who cares what you're wearing?" Cecily's eyes narrowed as she found Seabook in the audience, grinning like an idiot. However, from another section of the audience someone shouted. "Hey, shut up mechanic!" Amidst the arguing and shouting that ensued, Cecily heard the ringing again, and touched her earrings. As someone in the audience screamed "Cecily! I love you!", a Jegan fell out of nowhere and crashed against a building in the plaza, scaring everyone assembled.

It braced itself against the roof and fired a shot from its beam rifle before the building began to collapse under it. Firing a second shot, the pilot must have had pathetic aim because the next moment, one of the new mobile suits appeared, lifting its right leg back and throwing it forward, separating the Jegan's head from the body. As the severed mobile suit head flew, the crowd really began to panic, scattering about.

As another Jegan took a few hits to the shield that completely obliterated the piece of metal keeping the Jegan from dying immediately, the announcer grabbed Cecily, pulling her away from the scene. Yet another Jegan slammed into the colony ground, uprooting trees and crushing people. Seabook dashed away from the area, trying to get a kid moving. "Kid, you gotta run!" He looked up as the mobile suits fought, and then shoved him to the ground. "Get down!" He dove for cover was well as one of the enemy MS flew overheard. He was up and running as soon as it was gone.

Glancing to the side, he found another classmate sobbing over the corpse of a boy not even ten years old. "Dorothy!" He tried to get to her, her horrified gaze not moving. Amidst her sobs, he lifted her up. "Come on Dorothy, you can't stay here!" As if to punctuate, a Jegan took a chunk out of a nearby roof as it recovered from a fall.

Amidst the chatter, Reese directed her group of friends away from the carnage, and Cecily ran home to get into something a bit better suited to running like hell.

As several small trucks boasting a two-man crew, one driver and one person manning an anti-aircraft gun positioned themselves and began to fire futilely at the MS, the announcer tried to call in. "This is Dwight Camry! I'm the deputy commander's son! I need you to put me through to him!" After a moment, he bit back a curse. "The line's dead…Oh!" And he leapt aside as a car slammed right into the post where the phone was.

Cecily was running as fast as she could in the dress, but it wasn't fast enough to avoid the spreading combat. A Heavygun was speared in the cockpit by the lance-like thing, crashing into a new construction area. As it began to fall apart, one of the beams caught Cecily on the shoulder, knocking her down. Another punched through her skirt and into the ground. Tugging at it, her hands were joined by Seabook's as she fought to free herself. Finally the material gave way and she was running again, while Seabook looked up, cursing. "Don't fall, damn you!"

The fighting spread quickly over the next fifteen minutes as Jegans and Heavyguns tried to desotry the small, agile, and decidedly deadly mobile suits. Seabook and Reese both scurried about their home, gathering their necessaries. Taking a moment to watch the carnage, Reese knocked him out of it. "Come on Seabook, grab the survival case!" Mouthing an affirmative, he finished getting ready and they both left their house frantically.

As they ran, it was cynically noted that a speaker blared. "We of the Crossbone Vanguard mean no harm to the civilian population. Please wait in your escape pods."

"Mean no harm my ass." Seabook muttered under his breath as he ran as fast as he could.

Cecily threw open the door of the bakery, clambering up the stairs. "Theo! Are you here? Theo!" Barging into her foster father's bedroom, she let out a startled gasp as a Vanguard mobile suit flew lazily by the windows. Her eyes finding the picture of her mother, she went over, almost begging it, before her resolved sharpened. "All this happened, mom, because I wore your dress!" Turning, she fled into her room. Changing into a white shirt and blue jeans, she muttered under her breath. "He's such a fool. She dumped him but he's still carrying a torch for her!"

She finished dressing and was down the stairs in an instant, catching two colonists raiding her shop. Startled, they dropped a few loaves as she yelled at them, scrambling away. Stealing a glance at the wasted food, she sighed and ran out.

Outside, the situation had not improved at all. Military trucks flew down the street, unloading a few missiles on the way, while a Jegan landed on a bridge near the bakery, firing off two shots before a beam from off to the left pierced its leg, collapsing it on the buildings nearby. Stray beam shots vaporized scenery and citizenry alike, and the civilians were running frantically. Seabook and Reese met with a group of others as the mechanic jumped in an abandoned bus, starting the engine and loading it up. Arthur, a friend of Seabook's, and Cecily joined them. As he sped off, Seabook finally relaxed a bit.

"I wonder if there's a hole in the colony…" Arthur wondered. His fists clenching around the steering wheel, Seabook wondered why he hadn't thought of that. "There could be…" As Cecily comforted a young girl on the back of the bus, another trio of Vanguard suits flew by. The colony floor detonated as a group of Jegans and Heavyguns blasted in, firing wildly. The Vanguard suits had no problem whittling the group down, as two of the Fed MS slammed into the bridge Seabook and the others were traveling on.

"The Feds are letting the fighting spread…" Sam stated, awed by the sheer supremacy of the new suits. "They're nothing but a bunch of amateurs!" Arthur responded, slamming his hand against the frame of the bus.

As they took left turn, Seabook's eyes narrowed. "It's Dwight!" Indeed, the young man was on a bus up ahead, being pushed against and probably over the edge by two angry civilians. "It's because idiots like your old man are in the military that this happened!"

"Hang on, I'm moving in!" Seabook yelled as he stomped on the accelerator, throwing the bus forward. Sam and Azuma leaned over, catching Dwight as he was pushed off the bus. For a moment it seemed like they'd lose grip and he'd hit the pavement, but momentum swung him around and he landed on the bus. However, he also landed on top of Dorothy, uttering an apology.

However, after a while the road blocks were too numerous and they set out on foot, with Dwight leading them with directions from his dad. "Are you sure this is the street?" Seabook yelled from across the way. Dwight gave an affirmative and the troupe fled across, as more mobile suits landed. A G-Cannon landed nearby, the quadruple machine cannons opening up. Large shells from the ammo clattered onto the ground, one striking a woman carrying a baby on the head.

Crying out in surprise, Cecily turned to the side, running to the woman. Checking, she found that the woman was dead, and picked up the baby, following after Dwight and the others.

It was a clamor as they reached a huge building. Dwight yelled from the middle of the pack, "This is the museum! I'm sure of it! It's in the lobby." The closed doors presented something of a problem though, and nothing they did made the wooden portal budge. A pair of Heavyguns landed nearby, and Seabook immediately read into it. "They're coming this way. Reese, get back!"

At that moment a whirring sound was emitted from behind the doors, and he and everyone else moved to the side as the wood bulged and then splintered, admitting a tank exit from the museum. Cecily was shocked. "Is that a tank!" Seabook nodded. "Yeah, and a mobile suit!"

A man dressed in a ludicrous outfit stood on the open hatch. "I, Roy Jung, will see to the defense and reclamation of the Colonial Assembly! Haha!" At that moment a pair of Federation officers drove up, and immediately the ranking officer sighed. "That's weapons nut General Roy." And then he winced as one of the cannons fired, the other malfunctioning and detonating inside the barrel. "Get that thing _out_ of here!"

The tank moved back, but only Sam, Azuma and Arthur really cared. The others were a bit preoccupied with the shelter. Seabook noticed, though. "What are you doing!" Sam merely gave him a pointed look and continued loading the shells. "He says he's going to take back the Colonial Assembly with this."

"You're kidding. That mobile suit is over ten years old. He'll never do it!"

They didn't listen though, and kept loading. Roy moved the vehicle forward and the three kids climbed onto it, finding the rocket launchers and arming themselves. It was ironic, of course, when a Vanguard suit flew overhead. The cannon fired two seconds late. And it was sickeningly fascinating the way the beam saber flickered on, slicing through the metal with no effort. But it was not fascinating, but definitely sickening when Arthur was flung clear of the blast, slamming into a nearby wall and collapsing on the ground, not moving.

Seabook didn't care what everyone else was doing at the moment, he _had_ to get to Arthur. Before he could even remember moving, he was kneeling at his fallen friend's side, shaking him. "Arthur, Arthur, you have get up! Come on, Arthur, you can't lay around this place! Arthur!" Tears welled in his eyes and streamed down his cheeks as he fought against realizing that his friend had died. Azuma joined him, patting him on the shoulder. "Seabook, he's gone. Let him rest."

"I know, I know…just…what the hell is going on anyways! Why are these two armies just slugging it out!" And then he was running, Azuma, confused, following him. _I'm not going down just because some stupid adults don't know what they're doing!_ At the main group, Cecily put a hand on his shoulder and he managed a weak smile to thank her. "We need to get to Pier 24. You know where that is?" Seabook wiped his tears and nodded. "Yeah."

Cecily leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "You're strong, Seabook. We'll get through this." The blue-haired teen flushed, but nodded. "Thanks Cecily."

Using the damaged tank, they made their way in the direction of Pier 24. Nearly there, they ran into a blockade where a G-Cannon stood guard. A Federation officer was nearby, and he turned and blinked. "Hey mister, how can we get to Pier 24?" A light bulb went off in the man's head and he smirked. Turning to the pilot of the G-Cannon, he nodded. "We'll use this."

"Hey, what are you talking about!" The officer climbed up onto the leading prong of the tank. "If you have time to run, stand and fight!" Seabook cursed. He should have known they would rather fight than let a bunch of kids just run. Throwing it in reverse, the officer fell back, but kept talking. "If we use children as shields, they won't attack us! Stop them!" The pilot of the G-Cannon extended his arm toward the tank.

"Seabook!" Reese yelled. Seabook knew he had to do something, and flicked out with his right arm, catching a lever and shoving it forward. The chest area managed to stay upright as the tank transformed into its mobile suit mode, dumping the officer onto the ground. Continuing to back up, Seabook was shocked as the officer began shooting at the exposed hatch. "We are not gonna do this!"

Leslie Arno was on a bike he had found, and happened across the scene. Riding past, he heard Seabook's exclamation. Seeing the G-Cannon raising its arm, he gunned the engine and aimed toward an upraised part of the road, launching himself upward. Using the vernier, he landed on the hatch of the suit and fired his torch, lighting the pilot on fire. Jumping away, he landed on the shoulder of the tank suit. "Dad!" Seabook exclaimed. "There's supposed to be a ship at Pier 24."

Leslie nodded. "Then make a left at the next corner." The suit reverted to its tank mode and Seabook sped off.

They reached Pier 24 in due time, only to learn that the ship had left port. Luckily, the elder Arno remembered lifeboats, and so they turned and headed for the lower level.

At the entrance of Pier 24, three Jegans parked by the elevator, training their guns as an explosion of pipes and metal erupted from above. Three Vanguard suits descended, and all of the Jegans opened fire simultaneously. However, the beam shield blocked every attack, and the Jegans stumbled back into the civilian area before fleeing. The Vanguard MS did not pursue, and a purple one descended. The hatch opened and a young man with purple hair looked out at the civilians. "Excellent. These people will serve as our future military manpower." He sat back down. "Continue searching for my sister. Berah Ronah must be found."


	2. Reunions

Mobile Suit Gundam F91

A Series Adaptation

Chapter 2: Reunions

"Continue searching for my sister. Berah Ronah must be found."

Two of the pilots in the Vanguard suits escorting him shouted affirmatives and turned to find the girl. Inside his suit, Dorel Ronah removed his helmet, and mopped some of the sweat gathering on his forehead. Re-donning the protective headgear, he waited patiently, before a small 'ping' sounded in his cockpit. A voice-only transmission came across, and it was only two words. "She's here."

A small blip appeared on the radar and Dorel Ronah ignited the thrusters and hovered off toward the homing device.

-

"Cecily, where are you going!" Seabook scowled as the redheaded girl turned to head back the way they came. After a moment of no answer, she turned back, and Seabook was almost willing to let himself believe that she would listen to sense and stay with the group.

"Aren't you worried about those explosions back by the elevator?" _Well, dammit._ Seabook thought. Shaking his head, he called out. "Wait! I'll come with you!" Cecily shook her head, strands of red coming to rest on her cheeks as she motioned to the hatch everyone else had entered.. "Go with them, Seabook. Your family needs you. I'll be fine."

Seabook was met with warring emotions as she smiled at him, but embarrassment won out in the end and he blushed as she turned to run. After a moment of daydreaming, his mind kicked back into drive and he cursed himself. Jumping into the cockpit of the tank, he immediately sped off after her. "Cecily, what are you planning to do…?" He wondered aloud, checking to make sure he knew where the weapons were just in case.

-

"Make him stop, Dorothy!" Sam said as he descended, wondering where in the world Seabook and Cecily were going at a time like this. The redheaded young girl turned and glared at him, making him a bit nervous. "I'm doing my best, okay!"

The rocker raised his hands in mock surrender, shrugging past the other occupants, a young girl trying to get a crying boy to stop, and joining Azuma and Dwight at the front of the lifeboat. "Dwight, you…_do_ know how to operate these things, right?" That was something he hadn't thought of. None of them had had training using one of the lifeboats. There had never been any need. "Sure, it handles just like a car, right?"

_Aww hell no._ "Give me a break!" Jumping into the copilot's chair, he watched as Leslie Arno entered code after code into the hatch, trying to find the right code. Meanwhile, behind them, Azuma suited up, grabbing the tow cable gun to snatch the elder Arno and reel him onto the lifeboat. "He still can't get the hatch to open? I wonder what's wrong."

Finished suiting up, Azuma leaned over, watching. "Good question. Use that communication cable on the panel left of you."

"The power's all out." Mr. Arno was explaining. "I'll have to open it manually."

"That's great for us, but what about you?" Mr. Arno shook his head. "Just worry about getting everyone on board." Sam nodded, and Leslie turned back to open the hatch.

-

Seabook scowled as the tank crawled along. "Cecily…where are you?" Suddenly, his eyes spotted movement and he looked over, and were it not for the seat, he might have collapsed from shock. Theo Fairchild, gun in hand, was wrestling with Cecily. He wasn't sure of what it was about, but being young enough that hormones were a heavy influence on thinking, one thought came to mind immediately. _He can't do that!_

"Why!" She cried as she struggled to get away from him. Theo merely kept his grip as well as he was able. "You know why!" With a roar he brought her to him, squeezing her arm tightly through the spacesuit he wore. She merely spat at him, the saliva landing right on his cheek, unguarded by the visor. Reacting, Theo tried to break her arm, but she had surprising strength and broke his grip, staggering away, holding her arm. "I don't know anything!"

"All you have to do is leave and forget about your friends!"

_What!_ Seabook pulled the microphone down and clicked the button, his voice a growl. "What do you think you're doing! If you shoot, so will I!" With that he raised the tank's left arm, the triple-barrel cannon aimed right at Theo Fairchild, or so it seemed from the victim's point of you. "Stay out of this! This is family business!"

His right eye twitched. _I am sick of adults acting like they know everything! _"You call shooting at your kid family business!"

A gunshot sounded as Theo, probably psychotic by now, opened fire with the handgun, screaming "Shut up!" Cecily threw herself into his side, but not soon enough. A few adjusted shots rang true, plunging into Seabook's side and right shoulder. As the tank's treads ground on a raised platform, Seabook winced as he used his right arm to put it in reverse. _Note to self, don't do that again._ He backed the tank up, clutching at the gunshot wounds.

"Stop it!" Cecily delivered an open-handed slap to her father's face, the elder stumbling back before aiming his gun directly at her. "You just shot my friend!"

"Stupid girl! Think about why I had you wear your mother's dress and earrings today! This is a very, _very_ special day. And no one will ruin it!"

Cecily glanced off to the side, and saw Seabook. Throwing caution to the wind, she ran after him. "Cecily, no!" Theo jumped, catching her around her legs and knocking her down. Keeping a firm grip on her squirming form. "You're not leaving!" He felt the ground vibrate and saw the tank coming again. "Stay away damn you!" Opening fire with the gun again, he scrambled to the side.

About this time, Dorel Ronah's trio of suits appeared. Seeing the tank charging forward, he reacted instantly, lifting the shotlancer and firing. A huge spike of metal shot off and slammed into the right tread, causing the tank to spin out of control, before slamming into a wall.

Landing nearby, Dorel turned on the spotlight as he opened his hatch, bathing the two in light. Theo stared up in open wonder. "Lord Dorel…"

"This did not go as planned, Theo Fairchild." Theo straightened up, bowing as one would to nobility. "No sir. It did not."

"This is my younger sister then?" When Theo answered with an affirmative, the Vanguard suit leaned over, placing its hand on the ground in front of the frightened girl. Theo looked at her, prodding her back gently with the butt of the gun. "Don't be afraid Cecily. Your brother came here in person just to take you back home. Now you go with him."

"He came to take me home…?" She looked upward, her eyes narrowing slightly both in anger and due to the bright light. "Why!"

"The Ronah family has need of you." Her brother offered her a smug smirk. "I'm only here to carry out grandfather's orders."

"…our grandfather? Take me home?" Her head was spinning, and she dropped to her knees, holding her head as a migraine struck her. Forcing herself back to her feet, she struggled to look up at her brother.

"I'm sorry, but we can't afford to relax yet. Please hurry." His tone was annoyingly sarcastic, but with her headache, Cecily couldn't muster up the energy to take offense.

"Dorel Ronah, right? Without mother's permission, I…"

"What are you saying? It's because Theo was careless and let your mother run away that her whereabouts still remain unknown. If you want to find her, the quickest route is through joining with the Crossbone Vanguard."

"You're taking me home…for that?" The headache throbbed, and she stumbled onto the outstretched hand of the mobile suit, before collapsing. Theo remained at attention. "May I see her when she's been situated?" Dorel nodded, not really caring. "The Ronah family never forgets a debt to a foster parent."

As the purple suit and its escorts left, Theo walked away, laughing. _Nadia…it was a success!_

-

"Seabook!" The blue-haired teen struggled to lower himself into the lifeboat with his gunshot wounds, and both Dorothy and Reese were waiting, setting him down and grabbing bandages.

Sam lowered himself in after Seabook, landing. As he headed up to the cockpit with Dwight, Seabook grabbed at him with his good arm. "Sam, where's my father?"

"He's outside opening the hatch for us. The power's out, so he had to do it manually." Any reply Seabook would have made was cut short as he yelped in pain as Dorothy applied pressure to both wounds, Reese wrapping them with bandages.

"Everybody buckle up!" Dwight called, and as Leslie opened the hatch, he undocked them from the port. The lifeboat swayed as Sam cursed at him for it being too soon, but Dwight concentrated and moved them out of the bay.

Leslie ignored the tether line Azuma tried to supply him with. There was a young boy still in the colony, and he made his way to an airlock, and then stepped inside. By the time he looked out the hatch, the lifeboat was too small to be seen.

-

"Hey, not so rough!" Dorothy yelled as the lifeboat's verniers adjusted their course rather sharply. Reese put her hand on her brother's arm, trying to encourage him, "Hang in there, Seabook."

"Look how much of our town is on fire!" Sam pointed at the window as they floated by the colony. Indeed, Frontier IV was up in flames as the battle between the bulky Earth Federation mobile suits and smaller, more mobile Vanguard mobile suits continued, tearing up chunks of ground and even blowing holes in the protective area between the colony and space.

"!" Dwight's cursing brought Sam's attention away from the frontier. "There's a hole in the colony!" Indeed, floating through space were several flash-frozen trees and other landscape, and various items from houses. Up ahead was a fountain of dirt and grass, spurting from the colony into the absolute zero of outer space. As the lifeboat entered the fountain, Dwight found it very hard to keep it going straight, and so he tried to simply keep it at an angle so that they wouldn't be thrown completely off-course.

"The colony…there's a hole in it!" The entire crew was silent, before a pair of bodies smacked into the glass-like material, before slowly sliding off. Seabook felt himself get nauseous, but kept his bodily functions under control. He was more successful than a few of the others, who found the sight more unnerving than he did and began to throw up.

Once on the other side of the hole, Dwight leaned back, his complexion gone to hell. His face was shading itself between white and green as he tried to cope with what he had just seen. Unlike the others, he had had a close-up, and it seemed as though the woman was still alive, staring at him, hoping he would save her from such a pointless death.

Sam, close to a breakdown himself, patted Dwight on the shoulder. Somewhere in the back, Dorothy spoke for the entire cabin. "My god…this is horrible." Without another word, Dwight put them on a rendezvous with Frontier I, and collapsed into his seat. "If I never have to see anything like that in my life, I'll be happy."

-

Cecily enjoyed the bath while it lasted. The warm water against her skin felt so nice, and she started to slip her head under when one of the handmaidens assigned cupped her head and lifted her back out. With a frustrated sigh, the redhead leaned back against the tub, closing her eyes. "Even if I promise not to commit suicide, you're still going to stand there?"

The handmaiden bowed her head. "Yes. Lady Berah, we will remain with you until you are presented to your father and grandfather." With an aggravated sigh, Cecily stood up, adjusting to the much cooler room temperature, before toweling off. Wrapping her form with the towel, she took the smaller cloth bundling her hair up off and shook her head. "My name is Cecily Fairchild. Not Berah Ronah. Do you understand?"

The handmaiden seemed to have an endless patience. "Yes, my lady." She snapped her fingers and another of the maids slid a device over, positioning it over Cecily's head and turning it on, the heat drying her damp tresses. "Nevertheless, you are the eldest daughter of the Ronah family, chief proponents of the Cosmo Aristocracy. In time, you will grow accustomed to being waited upon by your lessers. This is but one of your duties."

Cecily quirked a brow as one of the maids combed her hair, turning slightly to look at the maiden. "Duty?" The handmaiden nodded, but refused to look up at her. "Yes, my lady." Not another word was spoken between them as her hair was done.

Soon enough, her clothes were brought before her, a brilliant red jacket and white pants with red boots. Rising, she gave them a look. "I'm supposed to wear these?" With a nod from the handmaiden, she sighed. "Fine. I'll be dressing myself."

"No, my lady, please allow us to assist." Cecily heaved a sigh of aggravation and nodded. She would never get used to this, despite what they said.

An hour after she had been dressed, she and her handmaiden approached a grand entrance. The doors opened and her attendant stopped, bowing before departing, leaving Cecily alone. The doors were closed behind her and she kept walking as one of the military aides came into step behind her. Glancing out the window, Cecily was surprised to see snow. "It's snowing? But…we're still in the middle of Autumn."

"The combat in this colony has damaged the weather control unit. We're experiencing a range of different climates."

"I see…"

-

Frontier IV was becoming a very different place. Now that the Vanguard had taken it over, the flag of the Ronah Family was being raised everywhere.

In the main port, the _Zamouth Giri_, Meitzer Ronah's official flagship docked, and he was transported down on a flight cart. Soldiers of the Crossbone Vanguard saluted crisply, and he returned their salutes just as sharply. Dressed in the purple and gold of royalty, he nodded to his son, who was very unique in appearance by the metal shell he wore over his head.

_Cosmo Babylonia is one step closer to being realized…_

-

Cecily had waited for nearly two hours pacing back and forth in the room before plopping down in the chair. Adjusting the cuffs on her wrists, she was surprised when the door opened. Beyond the gateway a man in a brown suit doffed his hat and thanked whoever had admitted him.

A small gasp came from her mouth as she realized who it was, and her eyes narrowed almost immediately. Theo Fairchild tucked his hat under his arm. "I'm glad to see you, Lady Berah. My congratulations on your auspicious homecoming." Cecily shot out of her chair, raising her hand and clenching it into a fist, ready to hit Theo as hard as she could, but she suddenly lost the energy. Turning away, she gathered herself before turning back, glaring. "You don't even get it, do you? It was because of all this that mother really started to hate you and left!"

Theo merely stared at her, impassionate. "I assure you it couldn't be helped. I'm very sorry." Courage failed him now, and he took one last look at her and walked off to the side, out of her range of vision. As the door opened and closed, Cecily collapsed in the chair. _This is the man who eloped with my mother and brought me with them? Coward…_

"Lady Berah, please come in." Cecily's head turned to see the aide beckoning her. "Right this way. Your father is waiting for you."

Cecily stepped into the sparsely decorated room that served as her father's office. The chair that was presumably occupied by her father Carozzo Ronah was turned about, facing a wall-spanning image of the battle taking place outside the colony. As she walked forward, the chair turned around, and she did not recognize her father.

What faced her was something that unnerved her to the core. He had her father's height and shoulder width, but not his face. Instead, a cold mask of metal which may or may not have had her father's head within stared back at her. "I was just watching how the battle outside was going." That seemed to soothe her horror. At least he had her father's voice. "It's good of you to come, especially wh-"

As he was speaking, Cecily turned to leave, infuriated with the presence before her. "Berah!" Her father's tone stopped her dead in her tracks. She hazarded a look, praying that he wasn't training a gun on her. Instead, he rose from his chair. "Surely you remember my voice. It's me. Carozzo."

Author's Notes: To my ever-so-kind reviewer:

Don't take offense at this, but I know all of that. I did it on purpose. A Salamis-Kai is a battleship, and the chapter was from a mainly EFF/Frontier IV perspective. The shotlancer was a Vanguard-exclusive weapon in UC 123, so it would make no sense for the Federation forces to know what it was.

I also cut out a lot of dialogue and skipped over the rest of the colony escape because after Arthur's death, the whole thing really got boring. You might notice that there are added scenes and dialogue that wasn't in the movie. That's because I'm not trying to clone the movie. This fic is going to cover the entire Babylonia Conflict and the beginning of the Jupiter Conflict.

I may not be a Gundam know-it-all, but I definitely know what I'm writing about. Thanks for the concern though.


	3. War

Mobile Suit Gundam F91

A Series Adaptation

Episode 3: War

"Surely you remember my voice. It's me. Carozzo." Cecily's face didn't change, but her mind had gone into shock. This man before her was her _father_? Where had the man she had known as a child gone? Her eyes narrowed slightly and she turned to face him completely, selecting her words as she went.

"If it is you, father, then take off that mask. Let me see you for who you are."

"Cecily, what you see before you _is_ who I am. I'm a pathetic man, who managed to lose his wife to that sniveling fool, Theo. After that, I donned this mask to bring to light the ideals of your grandfather and my father, Meitzer! From that day on, I have struggled against my weakness. To combat the problems that plagued me, I donned this mask and became who you see before you."

"The man I see before me is not the man I remember from when I was a child. Nonetheless, your manner of speaking and your stubborn thoughts could only come from my father." She took a moment to brush a few strands of her red hair from her eyes, before she began to advance in an almost predatory fashion. "Do you realize that mother had no choice but to leave you? She couldn't stand living with a man who has the same qualities you have! You can't have expected her to stay!"

Carozzo sighed within his mask and rose, gathering his thoughts for a moment. Turning away from his daughter, he stepped towards the view screen that showed the ongoing battle to take Frontier IV. He waited even longer, to modulate his voice. "I see that Nadia has told you a great deal about us…you should know that I don't intend to be like this forever. In fact, I have decided to, however grudgingly, forgive Theo. And I have agreed to see you, despite the aggravation of my deep, unbearable shame." He smirked behind the mask as he watched his daughter's face react a thousand times in that instant to his careful jibe. Yes, she was spirited. She would do the job she was required to do quite well, assuming she could be brought around to their way of thinking.

"Is shame the reason you feel you need that mask? So that you can hide your shame and run away from your past?" It was her turn to watch her words' effects on her father, as he stiffened, a sign of wounded pride, and stalked much more stiffly about his office. _Unbearable shame indeed…_

"I swore to myself that I would not remove this mask until the day Cosmo Babylonia is founded." Having made a full circle about the room, he twisted his chair around and, to Cecily's eyes, seemed to collapse in it. However, he leaned forward, his hands meeting in a grip and coming to rest the metal chin on it, cold metal eyes staring at her. "Forgive me."

She ignored her father's last statement, focusing on getting past the text stream to the data stream. "Cosmo Babylonia? What is that? Your idea of paradise?"

"A thousand-year-old dream of the Ronah family. A guarantee for the eternal survival of humanity. Well…of those worthy enough to be deemed part of humanity." The magnitude of that statement would not affect Cecily until it was too late.

"What dream?"

Carozzo didn't reply, instead rising up again, fixing his steel gaze on his fiery-haired (and just as fiery-tempered) daughter. "It's been ten years. I'm sure your grandfather is anxious to see you. In fact, to show you the level of my love for you, I'll take you to him myself."

"Gee, thanks." She muttered under her breath, before realizing something. "Wait. You mean grandfather is here? On Frontier IV?"

"This colony is no longer called Frontier IV. It is Babylon, now. Cosmo Babylon, the stepping stone to the greatest empire humanity has ever known!" The sheer fanaticism in his voice was unsettling for Cecily. Suppressing a shiver, she stood upright when her father turned back to her. "I will take you to your grandfather now."

It was an uneventful ten minutes as they moved through the estate, an uncomfortable silence between father and daughter. That was natural, of course. Neither side could admit to caring about the other. Ten years of separation and other circumstances had dulled Carozzo's emotions, and Cecily had never cared for her father much since her mother had taken her away.

However, when she saw her grandfather's face, the first genuine smile she had worn since passing out in the pier shone on her face as she shook his hand, and then hugged him tightly. Stepping back, he introduced the three men she didn't really know that were in attendance. The first was recognizable as the man who had called herself her brother. She smiled, recalling a memory of them playing together in the colony. The second was a young lieutenant who had lost the use of his right eye during an instrument failure in a mobile suit, called Zabine Chareux. The third was introduced as a second-in-command to her father, but no name was given.

Even the circumstances that dictated her meeting with her grandfather didn't diminish her happiness at seeing him. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

"Ten years, if I recall correctly. You were a young girl back then. Well, you're still young now, but not as young, and with all the more beauty to show for your age." Cecily's cheeks flushed at the compliment. "Yes, you'll make someone very happy someday." He chuckled softly as the blush she fought to keep down turned an even deeper shade of red.

However, a rule of the family was "Business before pleasure", and so Meitzer eventually ended their reminiscing with a sigh, and he was suddenly official in an instant. "The reason I called you here is because until Cosmo Babylonia is established…I'd like to keep you here and have you act as our queen."

Cecily's mind quit working for a minute, so shocked was she by her grandfather's words. Shaking her head, and pausing for a moment to move errant red strands from her eyesight, she gave her grandfather a disbelieving look. "You want _me_ to be the _queen_?"

Meitzer nodded with a smile. "You see, dear, the masses always demand an idol of sorts for them to admire." He tilted his head, bringing a hand up to caress her cheek. "Having lived and worked among them, you understand their lives and could be that idol. You're charismatic, pretty, I don't think there are many who would disagree with this."

Still reeling with shock, she shook her head, stepping back. "But…but that's…that's completely out of the question." She turned and walked a few steps before turning back. Pressing a hand to her heart, she gave her grandfather an earnest expression. "I could never agree to do something so outrageous."

That gave pause to the entire assembly, but Cecily could almost hear the labored breathing of her father as he fought to keep his rage under control. Still, the sight of his clenching and unclenching fists was enough to unsettle her. Meitzer, understanding the problem, immediately spoke to remedy the situation. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was so happy to see you that I got completely ahead of myself. Please forgive me, Berah."

Cecily mentally thanked her grandfather for drawing the conversation back on course. _Seabook, Sam, Azuma, where are you guys! I don't know what to do…_Still, she had a part to play, even if she didn't believe in what she was being told. Bowing deferentially, she offered a customary apology. "No, forgive me for thinking only of myself. It is a difficult time." With that, she excused herself, retreating to her room.

They were now down in the pier where the confrontation between she and Theo had struggled. Cecily didn't give it more than a passing thought, more intent on the tank-slash-mobile suit that lay among the wreckage. Zabine's Berga Giros rested nearby, the headlight on to provide some lighting as she searched frantically for some kind of clue as to the fate of her friend. Passing her hands over the dried blood on the seat, she fought the tears that threatened to come, and the lump in her throat that promised to rise. Modulating her tone, she looked up at Zabine. "From this amount of blood, it's impossible to tell if the person sitting here died, right?"

Zabine squinted down at the seat, and then offered a shrug. He was a warrior, not a medic. He didn't know how to tell a deep wound from a fatal. Standing up, he put a hand over his head, shielding his eyes from the brightness of the light from his mobile suit. "This area has seen a lot of combat, lady Berah. We've even lost two of our own mobile suits in here. There's still quite a few air leaks in this sector, so we should hurry."

"Of course…" Her reply wasn't spirited, and gave Zabine pause, but he decided it wasn't his business, and kicked off from the tank to re-enter his mobile suit. Cecily stayed for a moment, finally allowing herself to cry for her wounded, or possibly dead, friend. Rubbing as much of the dried blood onto her hand as she could, she held it to her, shoulders bouncing from silent sobs. _Seabook, what should I do? What should I do? Please, Seabook, tell me…_

_-_

"So the ships in the Frontier Side fleet have fled to Frontier II?" The captain asked, his gruff voice a stark contrast from his female companion's sing-song tone. "Yes sir, but there's no need to worry. We'll drive them out with no problem."

"I suppose." He rolled his eyes as he sipped the juice from the container his aide had brought him. "And then comes the messy part, mopping up inside the colony."

From the communications panel, a young voice notified the bridge. "White Sox, launching!" The captain smirked. Such an archaic name from another time. He'd have to talk to the officer about changing it to mesh with the modern era. The communications officer nodded. "Roger. And don't die on us, you hear?"

As the Berga Giros mounted on the catapult, it waved the shotlancer at the bridge. "I wouldn't dream of it. Jenos Idan, launching!" And with that the thruster emissions from the mobile suit and high-speed motors powering the catapult on the deck of the ship rocketed it forward, hurling it towards the colony, where his two Den'an Zon squadmates joined up with him.

As it was, Frontier IV was a complete and utter mess. The remains of the fleet stationed there that hadn't fled to Frontier II were falling apart. Jenos led his team into combat, igniting the beam shield and grinning with smug satisfaction as he saw that he had a full load of ammunition.

The first resistance he met was in the form of a pair of Jegans who unleashed missiles. Working his shotlancer and beam shield simultaneously, the machine guns and plasma intercepted the barrage. Unleashing a hail of solid rounds from all four barrels, the small mobile suit riddled the first Jegan with holes, methodically working from the head down. As it exploded brilliantly, it illuminated its partner. Noting its position, Jenos goosed the thrusters of the Giros and shot forward, raising the shotlancer. Manipulating the apogee motors, the Vanguard mobile suit dropped beneath the slash of the Jegan's beam saber, and then aiming the shotlancer upward, he speared the Jegan right in the crotch and drove it up, running it through the cockpit, and splitting the Jegan messily in half before both sides detonated.

Grinning with a sense of savage accomplishment, the young captain turned to hunt for other enemies. Dialing his comm unit up to the fleet wide frequency, he coughed to get everyone's attention. "Careful not to blow their main engines near the colony, you could damage it. After we're through here, this colony's going to be part of Cosmo Babylonia's new world!" As the various units acknowledged him, another thought occurred to him. "And don't lay a hand on those colony public corporation people. We'll only engage the Frontier side's Federation forces. Got it?" He grinned. "Here they come!"

A half-second later, a Salamis Kai cruiser opened fire. Raising the beam shield, he cursed and tried to weave through the curtain of beams, but too many hits overloaded the shield. The pink barrier between, as it seemed to Jenos, him and the world, collapsed, and a yellow light overtook him, ripping away at core of his mobile suit with intense heat. And he felt no more.

As his Giros exploded magnificently, there was a cry from one of his escorts, also caught in the barrage. "Squadron Leader, I'm taking heavy fire!" And then the Den'an Zon detonated as well, showering the area with fragments of metal.

The shielding above the area where the lifeboat sat suddenly detonated, showering the landscape with glass and debris. The sudden force rocked the colony a bit.

"Dammit!" Seabook cursed as the lifeboat rocked. "What's going on out there?" Struggling to pull himself up to the top of the lifeboat with one arm, he let out a grunt of surprised and dropped, making way for the little girl who dove headfirst at the hatch, spilling the food in the backpack into the ship. The boy blinked, before smiling slightly as the baby reached for them from his seat. "Potatoes?"

Outside, Sam looked up at the hole. "Is that…a Federation ship? It looks like a new model. Maybe that's the one that left Frontier IV." As Azuma tumbled away from where the white Federation battleship was setting down, Seabook joined them. "What's it doing here?"

And then a man wearing a bright orange normal suit flew from the hatch on the bridge, saving himself just in time by clutching at the doorframe.

With audible grunting, Cosmo Eigesse managed to pull himself back inside the battleship. Tilted as it was, and burdened by his noticeable weight, he forced his way up the gravity-laden corridor to the bridge. Finally shoving the door open, he yelled at the Federation staff inside. "You bastards, there's gravity in he-RE!" As the Space Ark shifted down, he lost his grip, the door slamming shut on his outstretched hand.

A wounded yell came from the hallway, before he pushed the door back open. "At this rate, we're gonna-" He never finished the sentence because the ship chose that moment to begin a slow descent further into the colony. Tumbling down through the hallway, he slammed against a wall as the motion was suddenly halted again. Nursing an injured hand and shoulder, he forced his way back into the bridge. "You're going to get us all killed before we can even fight the Crossbone Vanguard!" He caught sight of the pilot flashing a victory sign for what she obviously saw as a successful landing, and walked over, smacking her hand. "Stop that!"

Acting-Captain Leahlee was _not_ happy with this turn of events. First, the Space Ark, a training vessel, had been forced out of port and the instructors called to combat duty. She had no idea if they'd be coming back, but at the moment she doubted it. And now they were having to deal with this arrogant son of a who acted like she owned the place. Interposing herself between him and her pilot, she gave him an open look of anger. "Well, begging the colonel's pardon," She couldn't keep the sarcasm out of her voice. "But all my flight instructors are out on combat missions. Along with my NCOs and officers who are also out fighting. We were the only ones left to pilot this ship to Frontier I, and we are doing our best."

"That's why I keep saying we should use this ship as a resistance ba-" At that moment, Acting-Captain Leahlee's gloved open-handed slap met with Cosmo's cheek, flinging him back. The sheer heat emanating from the woman's eyes stopped the man cold.

"That is _enough._" Cosmo didn't say anything else, holding her gaze for a moment before he broke, turning back to the hallway. Looking over his shoulder at the woman, he barked his last orders. "The enemy will be here soon. Make sure we can use the F91. I'm going to bring the resistance fighters he-RE!" Another slight shift sending him tumbling back out of the bridge and out of the ship as the pilot high-fived her partner-in-crime.

Cosmo screamed as he fell, and for a moment was almost sorry about yelling at the staff on the bridge. Almost. It was about that time that he impacted none-too-gently on a metal surface, and suddenly his gut was being squeezed by metal pincers. "Huh?" Rotating a bit, he was turned back to face the people who had saved him from the fall. "Hey! Who the hell are you? What are you doing just sitting around here! If you have time to kill, go to the Space Ark and fight!"

Seabook bit back a curse. _Just like the colony…are they going to try and use us as shields, too?_ Deciding not to test the officer's patience, he adopted a tone he had found often worked with adults; confusion. "But we're just kids, mister."

Cosmo snorted. That ploy may have worked on parents, but he had no kids, nor any desire to have any. "Hmph. If you can fly this, you can fight. Go!"

With a relenting sigh, Seabook nodded. The lifeboat began to rise, but not before Cosmo started screaming again. "Hey, I was on my way down!" With a look from Seabook, Dwight released the claw arm, letting Cosmo drop the five yards to the ground. Stepping back inside, Seabook pounded on the bulkhead with his fist. "Can't we just get away from the adults who want to keep fighting this war!"

"Woah!" Seabook knew it was trouble right from the start, but he had been too busy holding the rope to pay attention. As refugees on the Space Ark, they had been asked to do chores in exchange for a place to stay on the ship. Naturally, they agreed, and were now helping cover the Federation's battleship with camouflage. As Lea tumbled down the deck, she slammed straight into Seabook, who fought to keep his balance.

Dorothy and Dwight both looked up from where they were working as Seabook let out a bunch of surprised noises in an attempt to keep his balance. As he began to fall off the edge, Dorothy, acting on instinct, lashed out with the rope. The rope caught his ankle in a tight grip, and he propelled himself from the metallic surface of the battleship with his good arm. Dorothy and Dwight ran over, hauling him up from the side. Sitting down, he offered them thanks, and a relieved sigh. "No need to thank me, it was Dorothy that saved you."

The young redhead blushed prettily. "I was just lucky."

"Excuse me…" Lea asked, attracting the three teens' attention. "But can we really hide the ship with these?" Seabook nodded, and explained. The cover they were using wouldn't cover the entire ship, of course, but from a distance it would look like a rock and trees, which would discourage a closer investigation.

An officer stepped outside and nodded to them. "Don't forget to close this up after you eat. We're going to be working inside, and we don't want any light to shine out. Otherwise all this work will have been for nothing." As the refugees acknowledged him in different ways, the man swatted at one of the kids. "Hey, no running." As Dorothy ran by, he scowled at her. "Can't you keep them under control?"

Dorothy paused for a moment before shrugging and running by. "Don't look at me, they aren't _my_ kids."

"Acting-Captain, I…" Nanto blinked as he entered the bridge, discovering the pilot sleeping on the floor near the command chair. Glancing at the captain, she nodded, signifying that it was okay. Shrugging, he glanced at what they were watching. "Is that from Earth?"

With a snort, Acting-Captain Leahlee Edaberry nodded. "Yes. The military top brass took a little vacation."

On the screen, one of the generals dressed in clothes suitable for Hawaii or another tropical paradise, nodded. "Yes, the Frontier side is the newest mixed-residence colony cluster, but it's like two drunks in a bar brawl. So we've just decided to wait until things quiet down."


	4. The Way of Things

Mobile Suit Gundam F91

A Series Adaptation

Chapter 4: The Way of Things

"Yes, the Frontier side is the newest mixed-residence colony cluster, but it's like two drunks in a bar brawl. So we've just decided to wait until things quiet down."

Leahlee nearly spat out her drink, managing to swallow it before whispering "_What_?"

Nanto was noticeably less tactful about it. "What do they think they're doing! They can't disregard this, the Crossbone Vanguard isn't a joke!"

From the hanger, the refugees sat, watching the exact same broadcast. Seabook's mind wasn't so much focused on that as it was on the Crossbone Vanguard and their archaic choice of weaponry. "You know, I've always wondered why our towns were built in such a classical fashion. But since the Crossbone Vanguard arrived, I think I'm getting an idea."

Dwight looked over, tilting his head, intrigued. "What do you mean?"

Seabook paused to finish the rest of his meal, and then looked back at Dwight, shrugging. "I mean that maybe someone in the Federation leadership, or the colony public corporation is conspiring with them."

Sam was now engaged in the conversation was well. "That's possible. I mean, looking at their weaponry and the style of their mobile suits, the connection could easily be made. I'm amazed no one else thought of this."

The blue-haired teen was silent for a few moments. "Maybe they have."

As Azuma commented on the stunning looks of a woman on the broadcast, Reese called Seabook's attention away. "Hey, brother, can you take these to Gruce? He's working on a mobile suit and can't step away."

"Sure thing." He walked over, setting his empty container down. Snatching the food containing Gruce's meal, he snagged onto one of the lift-handles and let it drag him down towards where the mechanic was busy working on the white-and-blue mobile suit. As he approached the mobile suit, he noticed something odd about the way it looked, at least compared to the Heavyguns and Jegans. As he jumped up onto the flatbed, he called out. "Gruce, dinner's here. Where do you want it?"

Coming around the shoulder, he found the mechanic practically buried inside the wiring of the suit's head. The basic frame of the head was there; the "helmet" of the mobile suit had been removed for whatever Gruce was doing. "Just leave it anywhere, I'll get to it in a few moments."

"So, did you hear that broadcast from earth?" Seabook queried? He didn't know what it was about the mechanic, but he was one of the few crewmen on the ship that he could actually stand talking to.

"Yeah, I saw it. Those guys on Earth know that the Vanguard won't attack them." He pulled his head out of the wiring and walked over to the console next to where Seabook had placed his food. Tapping a button, he stepped back as a video began playing.

"What's this?" Seabook leaned over, examining it.

"Just the maintenance manual for this mobile suit. The F91 is a prototype, not really finished. So I got the lucky duty of making adjustments every time it goes out.."

"The manual's typed from a word processor?" How archaic, Seabook mused. Just like the Vanguard. _Dammit, everything's just like the Vanguard._

"And we're not even sure we have all the pages!" Gruce's voice suggested that he knew exactly what Seabook thought. But Seabook wasn't even paying attention anymore. The video had caught his eye.

"Hey, run this slower." Gruce quirked a brow, but decided not to question the boy. Hitting the regular play button, the camera focused on a young woman with the same blue hair as the boy next to him. Gruce shrugged, not really making much of it, but the suspicion was there.

"That's my mother!" _Well, so much for being right about that…_ Gruce thought, but he let the surprise he felt register on his face.

"You're Doctor Arno's son?" All he got was a nod from Seabook, before the youth turned away, closing his eyes. Taking a step away, the mechanic watched as Seabook's body language transformed several times before settling on cold apathy.

"She left home, saying she wanted to do biocomputer research." His tone was mocking. "Now, I find out the truth. She was developing mobile suits."

Gruce reached out and patted Seabook's shoulder. "It looks like. In any case, since you're Doctor Arno's kid, maybe you know what she's talking about here. I could really use some help."

"How am _I _supposed to understand something that complicated!" The youth stalked away from the mechanic and the video showing his mother, trying to regain some modicum of control over his emotions. As he reached the ladder, he turned to Gruce, pointing. "Don't tell my sister about this. You got that?" With that he descended the ladder, leaving the mechanic to wonder what had just happened.

A pair of painter machines magnetized themselves to the colony's outer surface as they began to work on the insignia of the Vanguard. From space, it appeared to be a huge bird. The color was crimson, foreboding, telling of the blood that was spilt there to capture it, warding off anyone who sought to reclaim this fortress.

Not that the Federation listened.

Not that the Federation really cared.

A rock made its course slowly towards the colony, the oblong shape maintaining a steady course. The fact that there was no rotation whatsoever would have set off alarms in any live viewer's mind, but the only thing that picked it up was the automated defense missile site. The turret rotated, and fires leaped from the aft end as one of the four missiles it carried sparked to life, rocketing out to blow the rock into pieces that had no chance of really damaging the colony.

What it hadn't considered was that the rock was a Federation cruiser in disguise. The material destroyed, there was no need to maintain any pretense. Not even a second after the destruction of the camouflage, the first two mobile suits on the catapults were launched, the Heavyguns orienting themselves.

"Close the shutters! Transfer command of this vessel to the combat bridge!" The commander's ordered were executed quickly, efficiently. As the heavy metal barricades that shielded the view ports descended, his entire staff descended into the combat bridge. The commander smiled. In the past, a mobile suit needed only to blast the bridge to effectively take a cruiser out of action, but the combat bridge was actually inside the ship, so the chances of a surgical beam removing the entire command chain in one go was very slim.

One of his aides was talking to the mobile suit teams, so he gave orders to his own ship. "Set angle at thirty degrees down in relation to the colony. Their leaders should be in the government offices or the reception hall. Hit them both."

A lieutenant turned, giving him a wide-eyed stare. "Sir! There's probably a couple of thousand homeless camping out in both of those locations!"

"Their unfortunate sacrifice is a small price to pay to end this war before it really starts! Gunnery, give me a full barrage in five…four…three…two…one…fire!"

The entire battle seemed to stop as the barrels of the mega particle cannons angled themselves at their targets. And almost at once they released brilliant beams of death and destruction, each one punching into the colony. And again, and again, three more times before the batteries fell silent.

And then the shock of such tactics wore off and chaos reigned once more.

No one had ever assured the commander that his gunners had _good_ aim. A pair of beams erupted from a lake half a mile from the government building. Another set tore up an empty patch of road. That was the end of any shots that missed living targets.

Of course, the Vanguard weren't the only living targets there.

Ray after ray of devastating light bubbled up through the colony's armor, ripping up ground and people in the camps as the ship tried to assassinate the Vanguard leadership. "We're under attack!" One of the civilians cried. "It looks like they're trying to target the reception hall!"

"They're not trying to target anything at all!" And then there was silence as the group that had spoken was transformed almost instantaneously to plasma and gasses by a mega particle beam.

Cecily dashed to the window, wondering what the light show was for. But when she arrived, she clasped a hand over her mouth, horrified. The barrage was beginning to thin out, but its effects were still being seen as the lakes in the colony screamed, suddenly superheated by beams, as searing rain battered the homeless refugees. Her aide appeared a few seconds later. "Lady Berah, are you all right?" Cecily could only nod wordlessly.

"Everything's all right." The aide cried, beginning to scuttle away. Cecily was used to that. Her handmaidens were on hand when she needed them, but she wasn't sure where they went when she didn't. "From under our feet comes an attack from space…"

As one of the children outside screamed for his mother, she heard one of the maidens gasp "Your Excellency!"

"Grandfather!" Cecily turned, a smile gracing her lips. Reminded of what was occurring outside, though, she let it die.

"You haven't made preparations to escape? You should hurry, Berah." Her grandfather's warm voice seemed to alleviate the chill of reality.

"In…in large-scale assaults like this, there's hardly any time to prepare…so I didn't."

Meitzer chuckled. "So you'll just hand yourself over to fate?" He glanced outside as one of the final blasts tore through the colony, leaving a pinkish glow on his face. "Perhaps you're right. There comes a time when the person must roll the dice and accept the outcome. The next beam could come right up from under the floor of this very room. Before we even knew what hit us, we could both be vaporized. If that happens…please, forgive me Berah."

"No need. Ever since mother fled the Ronah family…I've come to accept everything that's happened." Meitzer began to walk, and Cecily turned to join him.

"Good, I'm relieved to hear that. When I launched the surprise attack against this colony, I wouldn't let the Crossbone Vanguard harm a single civilian. However, the Federation has no such rules. They are an army in the clutch of 'absolute democracy'." He snorted. "Never a true cause to hold onto, whenever they sense a change in the wind, they follow it blindly."

Cecily listened to her father's words, interested in learning more about the Crossbone Vanguard, the Cosmo Aristocracy. "You're saying this is the result of a popular revolution?"

Meitzer, now sitting in a chair as the Vanguard forces attempted to calm the frightened civilians, smiled. "Exactly. You see, long ago when people started to live in space, it was the price they paid for destroying the natural environment of Earth." He rose up. "But now that life in space is the norm, the planet is healing, and people are starting to return to Earth." He walked up to a window, and glanced back at his granddaughter.

"But only the elite of the Earth Federation are being allowed to resettle the planet. Ordinary citizens aren't being permitted to return." He shivered, the cold morning air digging past his garments and running through his bones. "You aren't cold, are you?"

"No." Her voice was almost musical. "All of a sudden, it's gotten so quiet."

"Yes, the Crossbone Vanguard your father Carozzo created is absolutely amazing."

"_He_ created it?" Her eyes widened a bit.

"Yes." Meitzer paused. "The future of mankind is in space, not on Earth. Or at least, at the moment mankind's future lies in space. Man will live out here forever. Those who have returned to earth have maintained an age-old policy of abandoning those who live in space."

So it was a matter of discrimination? "But doesn't your Cosmo Aristocracy also advocate discrimination."

"Justifiably. The highborn have duties that _must_ be fulfilled. Let's take the battlefield, for example. A commoner can say he's afraid, and simply run for cover. A highborn must stand his ground and fight for his cause. Fight without fear of his blood being spilled.

_Seabook…_ "You're saying that some people aren't equal…"

Meitzer shook his head. "Their human rights are equal. But no two people are exactly the same. I believe that mankind should be ruled by the highborn. By those who aren't afraid to spill their blood in defense of an ideal, and who cherish honor."

"When I was a little girl, I remember that you used to sit me on your knee and tell me all about your ideals. But mother was so crushed by those ideas that she finally had to leave."

"I admit that I was much too strict with Nadia. I made her choose a path that no one of nobility should ever take."

Cecily glanced at her grandfather. "You should know…that I _am_ my mother's daughter." Meitzer did not reply to this, and Cecily began to walk away, understanding that the conversation was over.

Meitzer called after her, a comment for her to think on. "Cosmo Aristocracy is defeating total democracy. Soon the highborn will have control as they should. This is the way of things, Cecily. This is the way of things."

The off-white mobile suit flashed a pair of lights through the fog, finding the deck of the ship. Attempting to ease the mobile suit down, Ensign Birgit Pirjo cursed as he hit the deck harder than intended. Attaching the gun to the Heavygun's back, he started falling forward, and braced the suit with its arms. Opening the hatch, he heard an old man shouting at him about not watching his step. Stepping forward, he nearly fell off, grabbing onto the cord. As his weight pulled it down, he finally set foot on the deck. "Well, I'm not the one who left the deck tilted in the fog!"

Ignoring the ensign's complaint, Cosmo looked at the MS. "What's with the Heavygun?"

Birgit snorted. "It's not like we're rolling out mobile suITS!" A crate of ammunition fell over, the top breaking off and spilling rounds. As they fell towards the side, Cosmo and Birgit both stepped on them, losing balance and tumbling off the side, saved by virtue of grabbing onto the deck. Both men grunted as they tried to haul themselves up.

The civilian boy who had tripped attempted to run, and slammed headlong into one of the techs on the ship. "Oh no. You made this mess, and you're cleaning it up!"

"Those kids outta be shipped up and sent to a camp somewhere." Birgit muttered, and Cosmo loudly voiced his agreement before ordering the tech to get things straightened out.

A baby's cry brought Birgit out of his reverie. Turning to Cosmo, he sighed. "A baby, too?"

"I know, I know…Hey Reese, maybe you know something about this."

"You bastard!" Cosmo barely saw Seabook vault off the edge of the bed the F91 rested on, catching Cosmo with a hard right. Knocking the older man back, Seabook bit back a curse as his hand throbbed, but Cosmo certainly looked no better for the wear. "I _told_ you NOT to tell her about this!"

"Rrgh! She can deal with her problems once this damn war is over!"

"Do you have any idea what it's like for us! We just managed to forget about this and now you bring it back up!"

Cosmo got his revenge, backhanding Seabook. The youth fell to the ground, rubbing his nose as Reese ran up, imposing herself between the two. "You monster! If you do that again, I won't tell you what mom meant!"

The former colonel blinked. "Are you saying that _you_ understand that code?"

The young girl looked away, not intending to talk about it to the man. "That's no code. In fact, it's nothing like that at all."

"Reese…" Seabook looked up at his sister, who reached out and touched his arm gingerly.

"Seabook, I understand mom a bit better now. She didn't leave because she hated dad, or hated us. I'm certain she had a good reason. I could tell from watching her on the video."

Seabook reached out and ruffled her hair. "You're pretty amazing, Reese."

At that instant, Gruce almost vaulted over the leg of the F91, scrambling up the last foot or so and stumbling down to where the group was congregating. "Reese! You understand the code?"

The young girl chuckled. "Like I said before, it's not a code." After digging into her pocket for a moment, she pulled out a loop of string, letting it dangle.

"Cat's…cradle?" Gruce blinked.

"Is Cat's Cradle the password?" Cosmo shut up when the girl rolled her eyes.

"You see, but you don't see." Reese responded.

"Wait…I think it's the circuitry for the F91." Birgit mused aloud.

"Bingo." She immediately began weaving the string. "This pattern was always mom's specialty." After a few moments, she held it out for them to examine. "See? It's an eight-column bridge!"

A few seconds spend analyzing it was all Gruce needed. He leapt up, ignoring the pain as his head caught Cosmo's jaw, clicking the older man's teeth together sharply. "That's it! Like mother, like daughter!" Laughing like a maniac, he ran off to get started immediately.

"So…this means we'll be able to use the F91, right?" Cosmo asked, dubious.

"That's right." Birgit confirmed. "Err, assuming you have some pilots in your resistance."

After a moment, Cosmo answered. "All we have are engineering students." He pointed at the two Arno children. "One of you refugees is gonna have to pilot it."

"You're not serious!" Seabook snarled.

"Those pirate Crossbone Vanguard bastards trashed an entire colony! Now's our chance to make em pay! Either you pilot it or we space your sister!"

Seabook locked up cold. He couldn't manage a response. If only he had some kind of power.

"That's an order!" Cosmo bellowed, turning away.

"You don't order me." The older man turned back, his face red with fury, but before he could open his mouth again, Seabook unloaded a swift kick into the man's stomach. Folding over, Cosmo gasped for breath. "You don't have authority over anyone on this ship! If you so much as threaten my sister _ever_ again…" Seabook's eyes narrowed. "I will kill you myself."

Birgit snorted. "Besides, it's not like he could be a combat pilot overnight. That kind of thing takes training. Still, your mother _did_ design the biocomputer on the F91. You two might be a good fit, you know? That is, if you're a Newtype."

As Cosmo picked himself up and walked away murmuring under his breath, Seabook's mind wandered. His mother had designed the biocomputer that was part of this mobile suit. Perhaps he was the only real candidate to pilot it. But…he wasn't a Newtype, and certainly not trained for combat. But to protect his sister, to protect his friends, and his own life, he didn't have much of a choice.

In times of desperation, some people choose to put their own lives on the line for the sake of others. This is the way of things.


End file.
